SNP councillors have walked out of a vital meeting designed to look at the future of housing and employment opportunities across the county after deciding they could not support the Local Development Plan.
All bar two of the local authority’s 23 councillors were at the meeting in The Brunton, in Musselburgh, on Tuesday morning, with Tom Trotter and Paul McLennan sending their apologies.
However, the meeting, which started at 10am, was not even 15 minutes old when the SNP group, led by Councillor Stuart Currie, walked out.
The SNP claimed the paper provided “no answer to the affordable housing crisis” and would see the “dismantling” of the green belt.
Council officials recommended applying a compact growth strategy, which would see the majority of the development based around the west of the county.
SNP councillors had instead backed the alternative strategy of a greater spread of the development throughout East Lothian.
Mr Currie said: “SNP councillors have been denied the information required to make such momentous decisions for our county.

“The objectives of the LDP identified in the officers’ report have not been met. We asked for an alternative strategy to be compiled that would allow all the options to be explored but this has been rejected.
“The crucial facts on infrastructure such as rail, roads, sewerage, education and transportation are just not available, yet councillors are being asked to sign up to the proposed strategy.”
Mr Currie said the compact strategy would turn the west of East Lothian into “a suburb of Edinburgh”.
The decision to leave the meeting was criticised by members of the local authority’s administration, who approved the compact growth strategy.
Council leader Willie Innes said: “The SNP Scottish Government requires us to build at least 10,000 houses by 2024. 
“The proposals in the plan set out the minimum number of sites necessary to meet the Scottish Government’s requirements and try and ensure we don’t simply have undesirable sites forced on us by planning appeals. 
“SNP members have tried to pretend they can ignore the requirements of their own Government at Holyrood. Walking out of the meeting was a grossly irresponsible and, frankly, dishonest way for the opposition to behave. 
“Far from standing up for East Lothian, they were in fact walking away from their duty as elected representatives. 
“Their behaviour over the development plan proves once again that SNP members are just not up to taking the big decisions on the county’s future.”
Councillor Michael Veitch, depute leader of East Lothian Council, added: “It is the SNP Scottish Government who approve the strategic development plan, which requires land for the 10,000-plus new homes.
“By the childish stunt today and indeed treating themselves to a day off, the SNP group have treated the officers of the council and members of the public with complete contempt.”
While Councillor Tim Day accused the SNP group of "abdicating responsibility".
Speaking after the meeting, county MSP Iain Gray added: “SNP Ministers have forced East Lothian Council to find sites for 10,000 more houses by 2024. Given this situation has been imposed on us by their Government, I think most people will find it astonishing that SNP councillors have thrown their toys out of the pram in this way."
“Rather than walking out of the process, why didn’t they tell the residents of East Lothian where they would put the new houses? 
“If East Lothian SNP really want to help the county they should stop grandstanding and speak to their ministerial colleagues in Edinburgh asking them to cut the number of houses they want in the county and stop overturning local planning decisions to build houses here, there and everywhere.”